Why was coach Ancelotti sentenced to prison?

VHO - A Madrid court on Wednesday sentenced Brazil national team head coach Carlo Ancelotti to a one-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 386,000 euros ($452,000) for failing to declare income from image rights during his time as Real Madrid coach in 2014.

Spanish prosecutors accuse Ancelotti of fraud totaling 1 million euros in 2014 and 2015

Under Spanish law, a prison sentence of less than two years for a non-violent crime is not enforceable if the defendant has no previous convictions.

Prosecutors had previously sought a prison sentence of up to four years and nine months for Ancelotti on two tax fraud charges.

Ancelotti, who coached Real Madrid from 2013–15 and 2021–25, was acquitted of similar charges in 2015 after the court found he had not been in Spain long enough to incur tax liability. He moved to London after being sacked by Real Madrid in May 2015.

A member of Ancelotti's team said his lawyers welcomed the court's ruling, but declined to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the case.

The Brazilian Football Confederation has yet to comment on the verdict.

Spanish prosecutors accuse Ancelotti of fraud totalling €1m in 2014 and 2015, through the use of "shell" companies to conceal his real income from image rights.

They allege that the Italian coach used a company registered in the Virgin Islands, which has no real economic activity, as part of a tax evasion scheme.

Ancelotti is the latest in a series of football stars to be investigated by Spanish tax authorities, alongside previous high-profile cases such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Diego Costa, who have chosen to settle and pay fines.

However, not everyone has compromised. In 2023, the Spanish Supreme Court upheld the acquittal of Xabi Alonso, the current coach of Real Madrid, after he refused to settle and insisted on pursuing his case to the end.

Ancelotti is considered one of the greatest coaches in football history, the only one to win the Champions League 5 times (3 times with Real Madrid, 2 times with AC Milan), and the only coach to have won in all five of Europe's top national championships: England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.

Last May, he left Real Madrid to officially take over as head coach of the Brazilian national team.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/the-thao/vi-sao-hlv-ancelotti-linh-an-tu-150858.html